Abstract:
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SUMMARY
In South Africa’s rapidly changing social and cultural context, where family dynamics
and relationships are changing just as quickly, it is essential to discover which
factors contribute to successful relationships that persist over time. Previous
research has utilised the Investment Model Scale (Rusbult, 1980) in order to
understand commitment processes and the constructs satisfaction, quality of
alternatives and investment have been identified as key determinants of commitment
in romantic contexts. In the present study however I investigated the primary
research question, “How can commitment be measured in the context of family
relationships?” Data collection took place through the Family Commitment Scale
(which was adapted from the Investment Model Scale) and a new meaningfulness
scale was added in an attempt to explore whether meaningfulness would be a better
predictor of family commitment than satisfaction, quality of alternatives and
investment. The statistical analyses were conducted with the purpose of examining
the research question and hypotheses. The findings of the present study contribute
to commitment literature by underlining the utility of the Invest Model Scale in nonromantic
contexts and providing an instrument which can reliably measure family
commitment. Meaningfulness is also highlighted as a motivational feature behind
family commitment processes.
